


Close Encounters of the Gem Kind

by Darthkvzn



Series: There Was Once An Avenger From Krypton [2]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Steven Universe (Cartoon), Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Knowhere (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2019-10-25 22:35:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17733932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darthkvzn/pseuds/Darthkvzn
Summary: On the way back to Earth after the whirlwind that their first few weeks as Paladins of Voltron has been, the gang runs into a Homeworld colony under attack by the Galra. Deciding to provide aid, however, may not have been their wisest choice...Cross-posted from Fanfiction and Tumblr. Technically crosses over with other fics, but that's waaay down the line, so you may take it as a standalone work.





	1. Chapter 1

It’s kind of funny, how much of a backwater the Milky Way is considered to be. Pidge likes to think so, at least - how many humans throughout history have proclaimed Earth to be the center of the universe? It couldn’t be further from the truth, of course, but that _certainly_ didn’t stop them.

 The reality is that galactic civilization is _practically_ nonexistent around these parts. There’s nothing like the ancient Alteans, and _certainly_ not like the universe-spanning Galra Empire here, and it shows; the Milky Way lacks any kind of hub worlds, or even designated hyperlanes. It’s the Wild West out here - or, more accurately, the galactic equivalent of an empty Denny’s parking lot at two a.m.

 Still, it’s nice to almost be home again. She didn’t expect to be headed back so soon - heck, part of her didn’t expect to return to Earth _at all_ \- but it seems Allura found herself a heart, and is allowing the Paladins of Voltron a brief, week-long window before they _really_ take the fight to the Galra for them to let their families know they’re, y’know, _still alive_.

 For how much longer, Pidge has no idea. They’re Public Enemy No. 1, but like, on an _intergalactic_ level. That certainly doesn’t bode well for their continued well-being.

 In any case, they’re a few thousand light years out - they’re doing short jumps, so as to avoid leading the Galra back to Earth - when they catch an urgent sounding alien communication, one that makes Allura frown, and summon the other Paladins to the bridge.

 “What’s wrong, Princess?” -Shiro asks once he gets there, all armored up - first as always, if not for the fact that Pidge was already there, analyzing star maps with Princess Allura - confused at her expression.

 “The Castle’s short range sensors have picked up what appears to be a repeating distress signal. The language is... _familiar_ , but I can’t quite place it.” -she admits.

 Shiro crosses his arms. “Familiar how?”

 “Yeah, we’re _super_ far away from ancient Altean space.” -Pidge points out.

 “Altean civilization became space-faring almost a hundred-thousand years ago. We explored _most_ of the universe.” -she says, as if it should be obvious. “We may not have colonized much, but we _did_ visit.”

 Pidge deals with this mind-boggling fact the same way she deals with most things regarding Altea or the Galra. “...oh.”

 Allura looks smug, but only for a second, because Coran pipes up after only absently following their conversation. “Oh! That’s Gem code, Princess.”

 Allura raises an eyebrow. “‘ _Gem_ ’ code?” -she asks, on the verge of recognition.

 “Yes! I guess it makes sense that they’d still be around.” -he says, eager. “Gems are inorganic life forms - they don’t eat, sleep, or drink, so they are _effectively_ immortal. They were one of the last intelligent species we discovered before the war.”

 The Princess snaps her fingers - a gesture picked up from Pidge herself. “That’s right! I remember my father leaving to meet with their diplomats.”

 Shiro interrupts the nostalgia train. “Then let’s take a detour and see if we can help them out. Earth can wait just a little longer.”

 Allura doesn’t seem like she appreciates the commanding tone, but she clearly agrees, immediately bringing up the Castle’s controls. “Generating wormhole now.”

 Lance, Keith, and Hunk come together into the bridge as the starship accelerates into the rift. Seconds later, they re-enter realspace, only to find themselves staring at an ongoing space battle some two thousand kilometers in the distance.

 “Well, _that_ can’t be good.” -Lance says, helmet under his arm. He doesn’t sound particularly worried.

 “What the _hell_ are the Galra doing so close to Earth again?” -Keith asks, crossing his arms. He, in turn, does. Angry-worried, at any rate.

 Lance cringes. Pidge is fairly certain he didn’t put two and two together. “Oh, yeah, that too.”

 Allura immediately takes command. “Coran, jam their comms. Paladins, to your Lions.”

 The five of them grimly fall into place, taking the chute to their respective giant mechanical familiars. The Paladins burst out into the void, supernatural roars audible even in the oppressive silence of vacuum.

 “What are we looking at, here?” -Shiro asks everyone.

 “Hands, mostly.” -Hunk says drily. “It’s not just me, right? Everybody else can see the multi-colored giant hands shooting at the Galra fleet?”

 Hunk has a knack for summing up the crazy situations Team Voltron usually encounters, and this is no exception. Indeed, a fleet of massive, human-accurate, hand-shaped warships is trading blasts with a Galra dreadnought and about a dozen cruisers. They’re about half the size of the Castle of Lions each, which means they’re all dwarfed by the Galra capital ships. Pidge can make out green and yellow ones, mostly, but there’s a couple blue ones in there, too. She also notices that, while they’ve obviously suffered _some_ damage, the hand ships are all still more or less intact, while a couple Galra cruisers have already become superheated chunks, slowly falling towards the planet, caught in its gravity well.

 Judging by the fleets’ positions - the Galra are sandwiched between the planet and the Gem warships - the Galra got here first, and the hands are reinforcements for the Gems below.

 “It doesn’t matter what they’re shaped like. They’re outnumbered and we’re here to even those odds.” -Shiro finally says. “Allura, can you contact the Gems? We don’t need them shooting us, too.”

 “ _I will try. I’m not sure the Castle’s translator software includes Gem language._ ”

 “It included human, didn’t it?” -Lance asks rhetorically. “Er, I mean English.”

 “ _No, it did not. English was just relatively easy to decipher. Gem language, on the other hand, seems to be a combination of computer code and spoken word. We’ll whip up a message, but there’s no telling if they can even recognize it for what it is_.”

 “It’ll have to do.” -Shiro says as they enter firing range for the Lions’ main cannons. “Lance, Keith, focus on the fighters - try to draw them away from the Gem fleet. The rest of us will take out the Ion Cannons. Stay on your toes, everyone.”

 The Paladins split into their respective groups - Pidge feels a bit awkward going with the heavy hitters, but her and Green are _probably_ second worst at dog-fighting, so she gets it - and get to work. The Galra _immediately_ begin attacking them instead, completely ignoring the Gem warships, likely overcome by their desire to please ol’ Zarkon with a nice, Voltron-themed gift basket.

 Pidge is pleasantly surprised; they’ve only been at this for about a month - just last week, they saved the Balmera and its rocky inhabitants - but they already fight like a coherent unit. Part of it is the Garrison’s training, sure, but this newfound success is largely owed to the mystical link they all share as Paladins. She’s aware that Keith just melted down a squad chasing Lance, that Shiro just took a Jaw Blade to the dreadnought’s main battery, and that Hunk just spotted a cruiser’s Ion Cannon targeting her. Pidge simply dodges out of the way at the last second, letting the overwhelmingly powerful blast tear through the cruiser behind her and Green.

 With the final Ion Cannon disabled, the Castle of Lions moves in. Particle blasts pepper the Galra fleet, which wastes no time in retaliating, but these bolts come from point-defense cannons - they’re meant to take down fighters and other such small ships, like the Lions technically are. The Castle’s barrier holds steady against this attack.

 “ _I am detecting a significant Galra field presence on the planet_ .” -Allura says. “ _Several hundred Sentries, at the very least, possibly some Galra officers. They seem to be attacking a major Gem installation._ ”

 “Then we better finish this up quick.” -Shiro says. “Everyone, regroup! Let’s form Voltron!”

 The Lions roar in unison, flying towards a relatively safe point in space, and begin the morphing process. Pidge has studied it before from the Castle’s recordings, frame by frame, but in the heat of the moment, she can’t quite tell what’s going on - only that she’s now not quite _just_ Pidge Gunderson, or Katie Holt, but a vital component of the immensely powerful whole that is Voltron. There are no longer five Lions and their respective pilots, there is the titanic warrior and their collectively melded minds.

 Well, that’s what it’s _supposed_ to be like, she instinctively knows. _Eventually_. But they’re all still rather new at it, so they still speak up like they’re separate individuals.

 “Form Shoulder Cannon!” -Shiro commands, and Hunk immediately complies. The Cannon materializes, targets the remaining cruisers, and fires, swirling ribbons of deadly light tracing wild paths for a second or two before reaching their marks, burning through thick hulls and the decks within. Cataclysmic explosions tear some of the vessels apart, while those that survive are left like wounded beasts, venting atmosphere and spitting out plasma.

 The dreadnought is mostly undamaged still, and its repair crews have managed to get the Ion Cannon _somewhat_ operational again - they _probably_ should’ve ripped it off instead of just slicing at it - and so it fires at them.

 Before Shiro can call it out, Pidge is already forming the shield. It’s just in time, too, snapping into place as the beam reaches Voltron. Purple energy flares out around them, dissipating into harmless, free-floating ions a couple dozen miles out.

 Voltron’s wings return to their original position, and Shiro bellows: “Form Sword!”

 “ _Wait_ !” -Allura calls out. “ _Incoming energy signature_!”

 They turn, and sure enough, a massive shape warps into the battlefield. It’s a complete yellow right arm, a little longer than the Galra dreadnought, and its fist is _clenched_. It zips past Voltron at ramming speed, completely heedless of the fact that the dreadnought is charging another shot.

 “Why aren’t they dodging?” -Lance asks the question on everyone’s mind.

 The answer is apparent as soon as the beam washes over the yellow hull, and does absolutely _no_ damage.

 “ _Jesus_ .” -Hunk says. “What the _heck_ is that arm made of?”

 The arm then smashes into the bow of the dreadnought, sending it backwards in spite of its powerful engines trying to compensate. Voltron boosts towards the two warships, but stops in its tracks just as they’re about to reach them, as what looks like a large, yellow bubble - about the size of Black’s protective particle barrier - sprouts from the arm’s surface.

 “Is that a _woman_?” -Lance asks, dumbstruck, as the bubble disappears, leaving behind its single occupant.

 Pidge is not as impressed by the person’s apparent gender, as she is by their sheer _size_ \- they’re about as tall as the Black Lion while sat on its haunches. Their skin and helmet-shaped hair is the same yellow shade as the arm ship, and they’re wearing what looks like a short tailcoat, olive pants, and brown boots. A square, equally yellow gemstone about as tall as Shiro protrudes from their chest - and, strangely enough, it’s the only part of their body showing up on Green’s sensors.

 “I...I guess that’s a _Gem_.” -Shiro says, his usual stoic composure broken up a bit by the sheer awe this being provokes. Judging by the off-the-charts telemetry Green can make out on them, Pidge is more inclined to label them as some kind of pseudo-divine being.

 The giant person spares a brief look for the stunned Voltron, before becoming enveloped in a crackling electric aura, raising their left hand, and blasting the Ion Cannon.

 The superweapon briefly becomes incandescent, then _explodes_ , and so does the superstructure beneath it. The Gem then leaps, seemingly unaffected by the lack of gravity, and smashes _into_ the burning wreckage of the Cannon, plunging into the dreadnought’s innards.

 “Should we help?” -Keith asks, uncertain.

 Lance scoffs. “ _Help_!? Let’s throw her at Zarkon!”

 Shiro shakes his head as small, fiery holes begin to violently blow through the warship’s hull. “Let’s leave them to it. I know for a fact the Galra don’t have anything inside that can actually put up a fight. Split up and head to the surface, instead.”

 Voltron breaks apart into its constituent Lions, which begin the descent into the Gem world. Pidge notes, somewhat uncomfortably, that the hand ships have moved in, literally _grabbing_ _onto_ the wrecked Galra warships. It reminds her of Facehuggers, which, now that she’s an intergalactic traveller on the regular, she can only hope exist solely in movies.

 The planet below isn’t really one to write home about; it’s a lifeless rocky world, not unlike a large Mercury, its thin atmosphere is primarily nitrogen-based - but the mixture is unbreathable for most life forms, humans included - and its soil is rich with aluminum oxides. Why the Gems would choose to settle here, Pidge has no clue. Maybe they _like_ inhospitable worlds? They’re inorganic, so...maybe they’re not all that bothered by them?

 The atmospheric burn doesn’t last long, even with the added challenge of dodging the falling debris caused by the battle above, and soon they’re diving through the thin cloud layer. Several artificial structures dot the landscape on the way to the battlefield - enormous columns beaming with light, intricate spires reaching towards space, and colosseum-like buildings floating between the clouds. The ground battle is taking place near a _massive_ canyon network, inlaid with Gem machinery. This is where most of the Gems on the planet are concentrated, if sensor data is to be believed. Then again, their sensors can only pick up the individual gemstones on their bodies, so it’s really anyone’s guess.

 “So, what’s the plan? A bombing run, maybe?” -Lance suggests.

 “Negative. Some of the Gems seem to be fighting hand-to-hand with the Galra.” -Shiro says. “We’d be risking hitting them, too.”

 “So, let’s join them. Let’s fight on foot.” -Keith says. _Of course_ he does.

 Hunk groans. Pidge winces to herself, too. Neither of them are too into the pedestrian portion of Paladinhood. “Let’s land nearby and try to find their commanding officer. They’ll probably know where we’ll be the most useful.” -Shiro says, finally.

 The Lions come in hot, dust blowing as the massive mechs trot to a stop. Pidge readies herself, manifesting her bayard and hoping against hope that she won’t have to use it.

 She runs out of Green’s mouth, meeting up with the others. All their weapons are out already. Shiro leads the way, approaching a small outpost from which a dozen Gems seem to be observing the nearby battle. None of them have anything she can identify as a gun; she spots some spears, a warhammer, several swords, and a bow and arrow. The weapon selection seems highly paradoxical, given their apparent technological prowess, but, then again, Keith’s bayard turns into a sword, too, and _that’s_ über-advanced Altean techno-sorcery.

 The next thing she notices is that the Gems are... _eerily_ similar. Even the Balmorans were easier to tell apart; there are three types, all completely different from the last. The smallest are a head shorter than her, all colored in similar shades of red, with thick but stubby arms and legs, and a sort of blocky afro for hair. Their gemstones are all over the place - back of the hand, knee, chest, forehead, nose. Same goes for the other two kinds; one is about as tall as a full grown Galra, their stone an upright rectangle in the middle of their chest, with a poofy head of cheddar-colored hair, orange skin, a red jumpsuit, white gloves and boots, and a glittery yellow-red cape, and a green colored Gem with a triangular gemstone for an _eye_ , a perfectly square head of light yellow hair, and odd, free-floating fingers manipulating some kind of hard-light screen.

 “Greetings. We are the Paladins of Voltron.” -Shiro announces, following protocol because he’s, well, _Shiro_. “We picked up your distress signal, and have come to help.”

 Pidge half expects to hear gibberish back from the Gems, but when the tall, orange one replies, it’s in _perfect_ english. “Oh? Is that so?”

 Their tone takes all of them aback. It’s the condescending ‘ _it’s cute that you think you know better than me_ ’ kind of voice Pidge knows very well from years of... _overachieving_ in academic endeavors. It’s also _far_ from the way you’d expect a Commander in trouble to sound like. “Uh... _yes_? We’re at your service. Where do you need us?”

 They languidly turn to the green Gem. “Peridot, where _do_ we need the _Paladins of Voltron_?”

 Pidge vaguely remembers something about the mineral peridotite coming from the Earth’s mantle. Peridot’s voice is kinda nasal, and she sounds... _bored_. “Ruby squadron theta is requesting assistance, my Hessonite.”

 Judging by the way the small, red Gems worriedly fidget at the mention, they’re Rubies, too. Now the colony makes sense; aluminum oxide forms corundum, a mineral real life rubies - and sapphires, which Pidge is guessing is another type of Gem - are found in.

 Hessonite hums. “Well, there you go. Go, go! I’d _love_ to watch.”

 The Paladins look at each other in confusion, but silently decide not to think about it too much. They rush towards the nearest fight, which is _definitely_ going in the Gems’ favor.

 The Rubies may lack any sort of projectile weaponry, but they don’t seem to be fazed much by the Galra Sentries’ laser blasts. They wince and yelp when hit, but otherwise continue charging. They’re also _surprisingly_ strong, taking down the drones in a single punch more often than not. Still, the Paladins join in, blasting and slicing away at the robots. Again, their teamwork has experienced a _marked_ improvement. They’re hardly _commandos_ , but they cover for each other’s weaknesses fairly well. Most of the Rubies ignore them, but a couple of them cheerfully greet and thank them - with the absolute _cutest_ voice _ever_ \- before moving on to the next skirmish.

 That’s when the first Galra tank pops up over a nearby ridge, points at the departing Rubies, and shoots.

 The plasma burst explodes at their feet, and when the smoke clears, one lays groaning face-down, while only a circular, soot-covered gemstone remains of the other. “Lance, Hunk, cover fire!” -Shiro barks out. He dives to cover the Ruby with his body, while the Paladins distract the tank. Pidge and Keith follow suit, bringing up their particle shields, since a squad of Sentries has taken aim at them.

 “I’m...sorry about your friend.” -Shiro says, gravely. A large, striped, yellow-orange Gem with a mane of white hair roars past them, and absolutely _demolishes_ the Sentries shooting at them. It’d be funny, if someone hadn’t just died before her eyes.

 The Ruby - her gemstone is on her right knee - seems very confused. “What? She’s fine, she’s right there! Not even chipped or anything.” -she says, all earnest and adorable, pointing at the gemstone on the ground. “Haven’t you guys ever seen a Gem poof before? It happens to us Rubies all the time…”

  _Ah_ . Pidge thinks she gets it, now. _That’s_ why Green’s sensors and her armor’s onboard systems can’t make out anything but the actual gemstone: the humanoid body is some kind of light construct. The gem _is_ the Gem.

 The Gem blanks out for a second, then looks at them with guilt. “Um, listen, I have to go.” -she say. “We’ve been ordered to defend the western entrance to the Kindergarten.”

 Keith balks. “You have _children_ here!?”

 The Ruby doesn’t seem to understand that word. “No? We have a vein of potential Sapphires, though, so we can’t let the organics anywhere near there.” -she explains, then grabs the other Ruby’s gemstone from the ground and hands it to a very surprised Shiro. “We’re supposed to leave poofed soldiers behind, but...she’s my _friend_. Just...take care of her until she reforms, please?” -she pleads.

 Knee Ruby doesn’t wait for an answer, just bolting - well, more like _hup-hup-hup_ -ing - towards the western side of the canyon network. Hunk and Lance return, fresh from taking out the Galra tank. “Oh cool!” -Lance says, catching the glint of the scarlet gemstone. “That’s gotta be worth like, a cool million.”

 “This is, _apparently_ , a _person_.” -Pidge says, rolling her eyes.

 “Wait, _what_? I thought they were just _really_ into body mods.”

 Keith shakes his head. “Were you _not_ paying attention to your Lion’s sensors?”

 Lance scowls. “Don’t sass me, Kogane. I’ve got Earth on my brain right now and not much else.”

 Shiro puts his flesh and blood hand on Lance’s right pauldron. “We _all_ do, but we need to focus for now.” -he says, understanding, rising as he cautiously pockets the gemstone. “Let’s try to find the Galra commander.”

 Pidge pipes up. “Oh, let me.” -she says, then closed her eyes. She finds that thread in the back of her mind and pulls on it, grabbing Green’s attention. Their connection is nowhere near as good as it could be, one day, but this is more than enough for now.

 Green is more in tune with life than any of the other Lions - as in, she can sense living organisms better than any of the others - so Pidge asks her to scan the horizon for living Galra combatants. Green roars, and a quick scan later, the actual Galra on this world are marked, and their location relayed to the Paladins. Disturbingly, Green detects none in orbit.

 Shiro takes a moment to strategize. “Okay. There’s three groups of Galra soldiers. One seems to be established at their FOB, and lightly guarded - Pidge and Lance, you take those out, and see if you can figure out why the Galra are so close to Earth in the first place. Another squad is establishing static defenses nearby - Keith and Hunk, that’s you. I’ll join the Gems in taking down the ones fighting alongside the remaining Sentries.”

 

Pidge grimaces. She’s no stranger to taking lives by now - Galra warships may be mostly crewed and defended by robots, but there’s still an organic element in command, and she’s taken down _several_ \- but killing up close is an entirely different matter. Something tells her that her mantra of ‘ _one less Galra is one less obstacle between me and my family_ ’ _probably_ won’t cut it this time around.

 Goddamn it, she’s _fifteen_.

 Lance winks at her. Pidge doesn’t think much of it, considering he flirts with pretty much every being that could be argued to be sapient. “Think you can keep up, Pidge?”

 “Doesn’t sound like I have much of a choice.” -she replies, deadpan. Pidge turns to Shiro. “I might not be able to interface with their tech without your arm, just so you know.”

 “Try it anyway. If you can’t, just destroy their outpost.” -he says.

 They split up, and head towards their targets. It’s a short hike, made only a bit sluggish by the debris from the battle. Pidge spots several dormant gemstones among the broken Sentries.

 “So, why do you think they all look like girls?” -Lance asks.

 “Let’s not assume their gender.” -she says. “We don’t even know if they _have_ one.”

 “No, I get _that_ . I’m just saying, they _do_ present themselves as feminine, more or less.”

 “Well, it’s not like we’ve met them all. Maybe those Sapphires the Ruby talked about look different.”

 Lance hums. “And the big one? What kind of Gem do you think she is?”

 Pidge jet-boosts past a Galra hovertank that looks like it’s been physically crushed. “A Topaz, maybe? I don’t know that many yellow gemstones. Could be a Yellow Diamond too, I guess.”

 “Yeah, that sounds pretty regal.” -he says. “She’s gotta be like, their queen or something, right?”

 “If they’re the leader of Gemkind, fighting on the front lines would be a _very_ poor judgement call. There’s a _reason_ Zarkon’s lived to rule ten thousand years. He just spits out orders from his throne room.”

 “Well, that plus magic, right?”

 She sighs. As much as she’d love to say that ‘magic is just really fancy tech they don’t understand yet’, she’s seen enough weird Altean and Galra bull to recognize that the phrase is worthless in reality.

 “...yeah, that too.”

 Her HUD flashes red in warning, just as they’re about to crest the hill overlooking their target. She looks up, and sees a fragment of burning Galra hull falling towards their general vicinity.

 “Uh...Pidge? Is that headed for…?”

 “ _Us, yeah_!” -she screams, grabbing his arm and punching her thruster pack to the max. They zoom away just in time, as the artificial meteor slams into the hill, the shockwave sending both of them careening across the landscape. The come to a tumbling stop a couple hundred feet away, groaning. The Paladin armor takes the worst of it, for sure, but Pidge is already dreading the bruises she’ll find when she hits the showers later today.

 “Are you okay?” -Lance asks.

 She shakes her head, more to check for concussions than to say no. “I’m alive.”

 He steps into her field of view, offering a hand. She takes it and rises. “Are we still keeping score after this? I’m pretty sure the save is worth a _lot_.”

 Lance smirks. “No, no, I’m pretty sure this just makes us even.”

 “What? For what?”

 “Sendak, remember?”

 “Oh. Yeah, I guess that’s true.” -she says. If not for his clutch save, the cyborg might’ve taken them out, instead of the other way around. “I’m pretty sure the game is over anyway, they’re probably all dead by now.”

 Lance raises an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

 “The fragment that almost hit us, it exploded in midair. The other piece should’ve landed right on top of the Galra base.”

 As if to confirm her hypothesis, an explosion shakes the ground on the other side of the hill. Lance winces. “Alright, let’s go check it out.”

 They nearly crest the ridge, before they’re stopped in their tracks. A Galra soldier pops over the hill, running towards them. Pidge brings her bayard to bear, but it’s ultimately unnecessary. It’s the briefest of moments, and the most terrifying sequence of events she’s witnessed in this little space opera she’s on: a blinding light appears behind the Galra, catches up to him, and consumes him. As in, when the glow subsides, the alien has _completely_ vanished. Disintegrated, presumably.

 “Oh my _God_ .” -Lance says. Funny, Pidge didn’t peg him for a God-fearing man. Teenager. _Yikes_ , she’s already rambling.

 The Galra’s killer soon becomes apparent, as the massive yellow Gem they’d seen in space nonchalantly walks toward them, each step shaking the ground beneath their feet. Pidge can’t quite nail why it’s so _different_ from staring up at the Lions; the height is similar after all, but the approaching Gem is so much more _intimidating_. Maybe it’s the humanoid shape. Maybe it’s their irritated frown.

 It’s _probably_ the fact that their electric aura still crackles as they approach.

 “I had not realized that _humanity_ had achieved spaceflight.” -they say. Their voice is definitely feminine, their tone that of someone who knows themselves to be superior. There’s an undercurrent of weariness, too, but Pidge is all but certain it’s not of the physical kind - they move like they’re on a leisurely stroll, as if they hadn’t just dropped from orbit and atomized someone. “With the amount of technology Homeworld left behind, it’s a _wonder_ it took so long.”

 The being squints at them. Pidge notices that their irises - yellow, of course - have diamond-shaped pupils.

 Ah. Yellow Diamond, then.

 “Then again, that armor is _hardly_ of Gem make. Too... _flimsy_ . Much like the rest of you _organics_.”

 Well, _that_ certainly sounds like an insult.

 “Not just _any_ organics.” -Lance says. He’s afraid, and covering it up with bravado. _Classic_ Lance. “We’re the Paladins of Voltron, ma’am.”

 Yellow Diamond seems... _unimpressed_ . “Is _that_ what you call the _waste_ of quintessence I saw in orbit, Blue Paladin?”

 “What do you _mean_ waste? Voltron is like, the most powerful weapon in the universe!” -Pidge says. So she’s feeling defensive of Green and her little found family. So fear makes her lash out a bit. _Sue her._

 “I _mean_ that the amount of quintessence powering your so-called _Voltron_ would create enough Gems to conquer every planet in _every galaxy_ . And _yet_ , its makers chose to concentrate all that power into five vulnerable little _puzzle pieces_ , and then put them in the hands of _humans._ ”

 “ _Jesus_ , lady. Calm it _down_ , will you? We wouldn’t even be here if not for your distress signal. We came here to save you from the Galra.” -Lance says. Pidge isn’t sure if it’s intentional, but he’s protectively stepped in front of her. Not that it’ll do much good once Yellow Diamond tires of this conversation and _vaporizes_ them, but it's, y’know, a nice gesture.

 “I assure you, your assistance was neither needed nor _wanted_ . These _Galra_ may be a threat to your kind, but as you can _plainly see_ , they are mere _annoyances_ for Gemkind.”

 Pidge grabs Lance’s arm. “It’s okay, Lance. Maybe we should just go back to Shiro and the others.” -she suggests, rather urgently. “We’re obviously not welcome here.”

 “ _Good_. I thought perhaps I was being _too_ _subtle_.” -Yellow Diamond says, disdainful. “Take your mechanical _pets_ and leave _my world_ , Paladins of Voltron. Return to that doomed mudball you call _the Earth_.”

 The Gem’s aura subsides, and they turn to leave. Pidge breathes a sigh of relief because yeah, Yellow Diamond was _definitely_ considering _offing_ them. Green and Blue fly towards them as the massive arm ship pokes through the clouds above. The Gem matriarch leaps onto its palm, and disappears into its depths. The ship then points towards the sky, elongates impossibly, and disappears in a vortex of warped space-time.

 “ _Yikes_.” -Lance says.

 “Yup.”

 “ _That_ could’ve gone better.”

 “Could’ve gone worse, too.” -she points out. “We’re not exactly great at diplomacy.”

 “True.” -he says, as their two Lions land beside them. “Hey, what do you think she meant by calling Earth _doomed_?”

 Pidge shrugs. Her nerves are a bit too frayed to really think about it. “Global warming? I dunno, Lance. I just hope we never get to ask her. At least, not in person.”

 “Yeah, no argument here.”

 They board the Lions, and head towards their fellow Paladins. They’re already taking off, and it’s not hard to figure out why.

 “Gems are _nuts_ , you guys.” -Hunk says when they join them. “Like, not even the fact that even their tiny Ruby guys could toss me around like I weigh about half a Pidge…”

 “Hey!”

 “...they turned on us the moment the Galra were done! We didn’t even have a chance to give them their buddy back!”

 Pidge’s eyebrows shoot up. “You _kept_ the Ruby!?”

 “I did.” -Shiro says, gravely. “Which means this won’t be the last time we deal with the Gems. We’ll have to figure out a way to approach them safely, now that we know that they aren’t exactly _friendly_.”

 “Earth first though, right?” -Lance asks, hopeful, then amends himself. “I mean, I don’t know about you, but I _desperately_ need some strictly human comforts. Pizza, videogames, beautiful _human_ women…”

 Pidge laughs to herself. Trust Lance to ruin a somber moment, even if it’s his own. The internal laugh is, admittedly, a little hysterical - they _did_ just meet a space goddess, after all.

 Shiro smiles. “Earth first, Lance.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been quite the eventful few months for the Paladins of Voltron. Trust a polymorphic sentient rock to throw an extra wrench in the works.

The dormant Ruby is kept in observation for a week - the week Allura and Coran spend hidden in Sol’s asteroid belt, waiting for the Paladins to return from their brief visit to Earth - before they give up on her. They don’t learn much from the actual gemstone, except for the fact that, while its physical appearance may not differ at all from a genuine precious stone, its atomic structure is far too advanced for even the Castle’s AI to understand. It bugs Coran and Allura for longer than they’d be willing to admit, but they’re eventually forced to declare that the Gems must have developed their own, unknowable kind of magic. The Ruby is kept in one of the Castle’s many spare rooms, and eventually, forgotten.

 

Allura is kidnapped and rescued, Emperor Zarkon  _ presumably  _ dies in a climactic duel with Voltron, the witch Haggar is discovered to be a traitor to Altea, Shiro goes missing in action, and the Galran Prince, Lotor, enacts a temporary truce with the fledgling Voltron Coalition before anyone in the Castle thinks of the Gem again. It’s kind of crappy of them, for sure, considering they’re ferrying around a sentient being like it’s just part of their cargo, but the Ruby’s gemstone hasn’t done anything since they reluctantly kept it after First Contact with her race, and honestly, they’ve had a few too many universe-altering events to worry about in the meantime.

 

It’s quite a shock, then, when the Castle’s intruder alarms go off in the middle of the night cycle, prompting the Paladins to bolt awake, bayards blazing, only to find a panicking little Gem running around the training room in a panic.

 

“Oh my gosh, is she trapped in the…”

 

“Yup.” -says Pidge, as the Ruby slams into one of the invisible maze’s walls for the third time in a row. Lance snorts, which isn’t very nice, but  _ way _ more honest than Pidge’s attempt at a neutral expression.

 

The Ruby doesn’t seem to notice them, instead punching and screaming at air in frustration. Allura rushes into the room, in full Pink Paladin regalia - regardless of the fact that none of the Lions have responded to her yet, she’s been a  _ huge  _ help with ground missions - and frowns at the scene. 

 

“Why are you all just staring at her?” -she asks, indignant. “Coran, lower the walls.”

 

“ _ But Princess, the Ruby’s broken through no less than a dozen blast doors! _ ” -he protests through the speakers.

 

Allura cringes a bit, but puts her foot down. Pidge can’t even hide how impressed she is by Coran’s statement, considering the Castle’s internal reinforcements are supposed to be just about as durable as its external hull plating. “She’s just confused, I’m sure. She  _ did  _ just wake up in an alien ship.”

 

Coran seems to hesitate, but ultimately complies, just in time for the Ruby to try slamming into the energy wall for the umpteenth time. She, of course, cartoonishly runs past the missing maze and straight into a nearby bulkhead, leaving a perfectly Ruby-shaped imprint on the Altean alloy.

 

The Ruby groans, dazed from the unexpected crash. Pidge finally gets a good look at her: her gemstone remains on her right cheek, and her body and hair are unchanged from the form she remembers, but the uniform she wears is slightly different. The Yellow Diamond is still there, but it’s on her back, now. The red, black, and maroon also seem...softer, less harshly contrasting.

 

Allura slowly approaches her. It makes the most sense, given her Altean strength and durability. Pidge isn’t willing to bet on who’s the strongest, but Allura can probably take a hit or two, giving the Paladins time to bring their bayards to bear.

 

“Are you ok?” -the Princess asks, softly.

 

The Ruby blinks, hesitant. “Yeah. Are you...one of  _ hers _ ? I can’t feel your gemstone.”

 

Everyone is confused by this. “I’m not a Gem.” -Allura says, gently, taking off her helmet. “I’m Princess Allura, of Altea. Pink Paladin of Voltron.”

 

Cheek Ruby finally notices the others behind her. “ _ Ohhh _ , I remember you guys! Sorry, I just thought...with the pink, and everything…” -she says, embarrassed.

 

“That’s ok.” -Allura reassures her, even though none of them have any idea of what she’s saying. “I imagine you’re very confused, so I’ll bring you up to speed: you’re aboard the Castle of Lions, our home and main base of operations for the Voltron Coalition. We took you after the battle as a favor to one of your friends, but...well, it’s been quite some time since then. We honestly didn’t expect you to ever reform.”

 

The Ruby’s eyes do the weirdest thing then: they briefly become white and cyan, and something resembling data - Gem code, Pidge would wager - streams down their circumference. It only lasts a second, after which she gapes, holding her forehead as if experiencing a headache. “Oh my  _ stars _ ! But I wasn’t trying to hold off reforming! How did it take  _ this  _ long?”

 

Pidge frowns, suspicious. “ _ Why _ would you wanna wait to come back to life?”

 

She fidgets. “I... _ nevermind _ . I need to get back to my post  _ immediately _ .” -she says, abruptly.

 

“Yeah, that’s gonna be a problem.” -Lance says. “We’re, like, on the other side of the  _ universe _ .”

 

The poor Gem looks like she might faint at this. “ _ What _ !? But my Hessonite needs me!” -she panickedly shouts. “Please, Princess Allura, I need to go back to the nearest Gem colony as soon as possible!”

 

Like Lance said, it’s a problem; it’s not just the distance - which Altean wormholes can make  _ relatively _ short work of, at Allura’s expense - but the fact that they’re at a crucial juncture in their fight against the Galra Empire. Prince Lotor may not be, at least on the surface, the power-hungry despot his father was, but he’s not exactly a friend, either. He’s brazenly taking advantage of the fact that Voltron cannot be formed without the Black Lion to enforce this illusion of peace, effectively grinding the liberation movement to a halt until Shiro - or, more realistically, another Black Paladin - is found. Lotor’s buying time to decide where to take his Empire, and charming though he may be, it’s entirely possible that he’ll continue in his father’s footsteps.

 

“I’m sorry, Ruby.” -the Princess says. “It’s going to have to wait a bit.”

 

“No, it’s not. I can take her.” -Pidge finds herself saying. Everyone is surprised at this, herself included. A part of her mind is sensibly yelling at her about how bad this idea-in-progress of hers is, but she shuts it up.

 

Lance frowns. “Where did  _ that  _ come from?”

 

_ The Holt side of the family tree _ , she snarks to herself. Pidge crosses her arms; her idea may be impulsive, but damned if she’s not gonna argue the  _ heck  _ out of it. “I’m the logical choice, guys. I’m no good at all the diplomatic stuff we’ve been doing, and we haven’t fought anyone in weeks. Plus, I’m sick of getting no progress on the Galra tracking algorithm. I could use the change of scenery.”

 

“Still, we shouldn’t split the team up.” -Keith says. “What if Lotor decides to stop playing nice? What if the Galra Commanders get tired of peace?”

 

“Well, it’s not like Voltron’s gonna rush out of the Castle anytime soon, anyway.” -she counters. It’s a bit of a low blow, but they all know it to be true. “You guys can handle it, I  _ know _ you can. Plus, the Coalition is already shaping up to be a decent fighting force, so you wouldn’t be by yourselves in a fight.”

 

Pidge briefly wonders how this discussion would go with Shiro around. Allura refuses to take up his well-earned mantle, and Keith tries his best, but he’s not  _ quite _ ready to be the leader Shiro wanted him to be. 

 

_ Wants _ . Gotta keep up the optimism.

 

“I mean, it’s not  _ ideal _ , but this  _ is  _ the best time for Pidge to zip to the Milky Way and back.” -Hunk argues, then looks at her. “The Galra aren’t patrolling the hyperlanes right now, so you’d make the whole trip in...what, a week?”

 

Pidge does some quick FTL calculations in her head. “Less, if I cut across their holdover sectors.”

 

“It’s far too risky.” -Allura says. “A Lion on its own may be too tempting a target for even the most disciplined of Galra.”

 

“So she doesn’t go alone.” -Lance says. “I’ll go with her, make them think twice.”

 

Pidge rolls her eyes. “I don’t need an escort to go from point A to point B.”

 

“How about a wingman, then?” -he says, shrugging. He pointedly glances at the expectant Ruby, then back at her. The Paladins aren’t quite at the ‘mutual telepathy’ stage of their development as a team, not when said team is now so glaringly  _ incomplete _ , but she gets the idea anyway; Lance isn’t so much worried about Pidge and Green’s ability to handle a few greedy Galra, as he is about the idea of her trekking solo across the universe with a being they know almost nothing about.

 

It’s still kind of annoying, but she’ll let it slide because,  _ yeah _ , it’s probably the smart way to go about this.

 

“Fine.” -she allows. “Grab some supplies while I plot us a course.”

 

The Ruby tackle-hugs her waist. It’s kind of crushing her hip bones a little, but the Ruby’s too cute to push away. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” -she says. “It’s too bad you’re not a Gem. My Commander might’ve thanked you with your very own Pearl!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge and Lance make their way across the universe to the Milky Way, with a pit-stop on Olkarion. Lance figures out Pidge's ulterior motives, Pidge learns a frightening amount of information on Gemkind from Ruby, and the gang arrives at a certain seedy, skull-shaped celestial body. 
> 
> (Yes, that's a pun.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is tangentially connected to Changing of the Guard; as a result, you'll see a few references to Ben 10 alien species, and of course MCU cosmic concepts such as Celestials, the various Empires controlling the Milky Way, and other such references. Hope you enjoy!

Pidge half expects a gravity well generator to pull them out of hyperflight as soon as they cross into Galra territory on day two, but they either miss the Lions hurtling through space at an exponentially increasing pace, or the Galra commanders decide to uphold the truce, so they’re left to peacefully break the laws of physics aboard Green and Blue.

 

The Lions don’t play by the same rules as the rest of the universe around them, owing to their transdimensional origins, so the intergalactic trip - which would take the fastest Galra ship at  _ least  _ a month - goes by so quickly that Pidge barely has the time to satisfy her curiosity regarding Gemkind.

 

Which ends up not mattering, since Ruby is  _ more  _ than happy to fill the entire time with exposition.

 

Ruby - technically, Ruby-7X1 Cut-5YA, but she’s fine with ‘just’ Ruby - is talkative as heck, and delighted to answer Pidge’s questions. She gets the distinct impression that, regardless of Ruby’s ‘ _ My Hessonite needs me! _ ’ comment, her superiors never really pay attention to her, so she’s limited to talking to others of her kind, and thus welcomes this change of pace. 

 

Pidge’s journal gets some rather  _ interesting _ entries, like:

 

_ Gems  _ can _ eat - as in, physically consume food, and even enjoy it. However, they lack a natural digestive system and thus a way to expel whatever they’ve eaten, let alone use it as energy. Ruby eagerly ate one of my rations...only to spit the  _ mush  _ on Green’s cockpit floor. _

 

_ Gems  _ can  _ sleep, and even dream, but this process does not have any benefits or drawbacks for them. It’s simply a way to pass time. Ruby says that her home planet used to get periodic meteor showers, which the base’s commanding officers would reluctantly have the Rubies sleep through underground. _

 

_ A Gem’s “hard light” body/projection, obviously emanated from their gemstone, is extremely resistant to most kinds of damage, but especially kinetic forces. Energy based attacks seem to be more effective, though this is relative, considering Galra laser blasts - from personal blasters, anyway - barely seem to faze them. _

 

_ Gem society is based on a rigid caste system, divided according to Gem type and purpose. Rubies are soldier Gems, plentiful, low ranking, and usually considered to be weak and insignificant by other Gem types. (Holy crap) _

 

_ Other Gem types include: _

_ Sapphire (strategists? advisers? ...magical mystery seers?) _

_ Jasper (shock troops) _

_ Amethyst (general infantry) _

_ Carnelian (general infantry, red edition) _

_ Agate (field officer/drill instructor?) _

_ Lapis Lazuli (terraformers/artists?) _

_ Hessonite (field/fleet Commanders) _

_ Pearl (made-to-order servants/SLAVES, JFC) _

_ Bismuth (builders/architects) _

_ Albite (comms officers/telepaths) _

_ Orthoclase (outpost security guards) _

_ Malachite (anti-organic specialists!?!?!?) _

_ Peridot (technicians) _

_ Topaz (elite guards) _

_ Aquamarine (special agents? intelligence officers?) _

_ Citrine (shipboard guards/boarding parties) _

_ Jade (uhhh court sycophants, apparently) _

_ Nephrite (pilots/ship captains) _

_ Rutile (navigators) _

_ Diamond (matriarchs/queens/horrifying cosmic goddesses???) _

 

It’s...a  _ lot _ . Even as someone who generally appreciates learning everything she can about a particular topic of interest, Pidge eventually asks Ruby to stop. It makes the little Gem a bit sad, but Pidge can only take so much. The more she learns about the Gem Empire, the more she wishes they’d never crossed paths with a species of tailor-made, mass produced, effectively  _ immortal _ killing machines.

 

She’s thankful, then, for the pit stop they make on Olkarion. It gives her a chance to parse through the new knowledge, and of course, to plan her next move.

 

Unfortunately, it gives Lance a chance to figure out what she’s up to, as well.

 

He catches up to her in Green’s cockpit, careful to avoid the sleeping Gem on the floor. They’re about half an hour away from leaving again, having freshened up a little, and introduced the fascinated little Gem to the equally enthused - and, somehow, utterly stumped by the Ruby’s  _ entire existence _ \- Olkari scientists.

 

“So.” -Lance begins, casually leaning against a bulkhead at her right. “When are you gonna let me in on the  _ actual  _ plan?”

 

Pidge frowns, her eyes invisible behind her reflective lenses, currently filled with all sorts of stolen Galra data she tirelessly sorts through. “What do you mean?”

 

He shrugs. “I won’t call you selfish, because you  _ aren’t _ . It’s just, leaving a project like the Galra fleet tracker unfinished? That’s not really like you. Not to mention, volunteering for a mission that isn’t stealth? Or tech-related? That’s not really your style.”

 

“Maybe I’m trying to branch out.” -she teases, even though by now she knows he’s seen through her attempted subterfuge. “I’m more than just the resident tech wiz, y’know.”

 

“Oh, I know.” -he says. “I  _ also _ know when your ulterior motives are showing, Pidge.”

 

She hums. “And what would those be?”

 

“Usually? Finding your family.” -he says knowingly.

 

Pidge sighs. “Well, you’re not wrong. I  _ do  _ want to get Ruby back to her people, but...well, it just so happens that my latest lead on Matt’s location is in the Milky Way.”

 

Lance seems genuinely taken aback. “What? Seriously?”

 

She nods. “I was investigating the reason for the Galra fleet’s presence in the Milky Way.” -she says. “We know they were only in the galaxy because they had a lead on the Blue Lion, and we also know they left after we took it to Allura.”

 

“Right.”

 

“We  _ also  _ know they aren’t looking to conquer our galaxy, not even to demoralize us - it’s too far away from their territory, and establishing the necessary supply lines  _ alone  _ would take longer than a human being could possibly live, to say nothing of  _ actually _ waging war with the Milky Way.”

 

“...I’ll take your word for it.”

 

She snorts. “It just makes no sense, that they’d be there to fight - or, rather, get their purple  _ asses  _ handed to them by - the Gems in the first place. So, I started digging.”

 

Lance crosses his arms, pensive. “What’d you find?”

 

“The taskforce the Gems destroyed was sent by the Galra to track down a rebel cell.” -she says. “A group of escapees from all over the Empire, known to be involved in several high profile prison breakouts. They only got distracted because the Gem colonizers were in their way.”

 

“And you really think your brother and father are with them?”

 

Pidge sighs, desperation creeping into her expression. “They  _ have  _ to be. The Galra have  _ millions _ of prisoners, but none of them are human, so far as I or my algorithms can tell.”

 

Lance seems to think it through. Pidge half expects him to turn around and bail on her, but he just smiles and puts his hand on her shoulder. “Then I’m sure we’ll find them, Pidge.”

 

Pidge purses her lips. “I can’t ask you to join me on this. Might be a wild goose chase, after all.”

 

He shrugs. Again. He does that a lot. “Hey, I joined you without knowing how important this trip was to you, didn’t I? There’s no need to ask.”

 

Pidge smirks, despite herself. “Alright,  _ wingman _ . Come on, let’s grab some Olkari techno-ramen before we leave.”

 

* * *

 

So, Pidge was  _ sort  _ of wrong, in her concept of the Milky Way’s civilized status.

 

There’s no hyperlanes, but there _are_ ancient, horribly impractical warp gates spread out all over the Milky Way, _Mass_ _Effect_ style. There’s no galaxy-spanning civilizations, but there _are_ several sizable empires and other such recognizable powers within her home galaxy. Maybe it’s less ‘empty Denny’s parking lot at 2 am’, and more ‘nearly abandoned neighborhood with, like, two big houses and a dinky little bar’.

 

A dinky little bar which just so happens to be their current location. She may have been wrong, but the Milky Way still  _ kinda  _ sucks.

 

Knowhere is a  _ weird  _ place, which is saying a lot, considering how many utterly  _ baffling  _ celestial bodies she’s been to as a Paladin - Olkarion itself, for example, with its planetary-circumference-spanning mountain range, and the resulting,  _ utterly  _ unique binary atmosphere system. Knowhere takes the cake, even still.

 

It’s a goddamn moon-sized, _rotting_ _skull_ in _space_.

 

According to the local archives, Knowhere is actually the severed head of a  _ massive _ , immortal being called a ‘Celestial’, some kind of cosmic deity whose  _ cadaver _ has been used as a renewable source of several  _ incredibly _ valuable  _ divine bodily substances _ , mined by the less-than-legit but still highly influential and wealthy Tivan Group.

 

Pidge wants to bang her forehead against Green’s viewscreen.  _ Why  _ the  _ fuck  _ is space so  _ ridiculous _ ? Why can’t this just be an oddly shaped planetoid? How is ‘a constantly healing, decapitated space god’ the  _ actual  _ explanation?

 

Upon learning this fact, Lance just thinks it’s  _ metal _ . Of  _ course  _ he does.

 

In any case, the Paladins land on the station, not bothering to conceal their identities. Pidge highly doubts anyone here even knows what Voltron _is_ , let alone the Paladins and Lions that make it up. Sure enough, the looks they get are much more _confused_ than greedy, or hostile - their perpetually clean, shiny white armors stick out like a sore thumb in this seedy corner of the universe. The people of Knowhere seem to be much more wary of _Ruby’s_ presence, which tells Pidge that they _must_ know what the Gems are about.

 

Pidge shouldn’t be surprised to see such an eclectic variety of people on the station, knowing how diverse life  _ really _ is, but she can’t quite help raising her eyebrows as she scans the crowds around them and finds everything from azure-skinned, humanoid Kree, to the more monster-like stone creatures known as Kronans. The helmet she wears identifies every species for her, which gives credence to Allura’s affirmation that, indeed, the Alteans really  _ did _ catalogue most of the universe and its denizens.

 

As soon as the surprise of their appearance wears off, the residents of Knowhere treat them like any other visitor. Merchants shout at them, offering wares, beggars ask for credits, and bounty hunters - of which there are  _ many _ , worryingly enough - eye them, trying to figure out if someone might’ve put a hit on their heads. Just to be sure, Pidge checks their guild’s bounty board, but it appears the Galra never bothered to use local mercenary services. It still puts Pidge on edge, but at least Lance and Ruby seem ecstatic about their visit. 

 

Lance stops by some food stalls - well, Pidge  _ thinks _ their merchandise is  _ supposed  _ to be food - chats with some of the miners - a couple of huge, super buff Tetramands, their bright red skins glistening with sweat - and even starts flirting with a skimpily dressed pink-skinned Krylorian, showing off his bayard before noticing Pidge glaring at him, and falling back in line behind her. Meanwhile, Ruby flits about like a hyperactive butterfly, playing tag with the station’s  _ alarmingly  _ abundant orphan children and cowering away from a grumpy looking Necrofriggian she accidentally bumped into.

 

Despite the distracted duo, Pidge eventually ends up leading the group to a central location belonging to the leader of the mining Group and ‘owner’ of Knowhere, Taneleer Tivan. 

 

“Over here.” -Pidge says to them.

 

Lance eyes the place up. Nothing in the station is really  _ beautiful _ , but this place comes closest. It’s a massive, domed hexagonal cathedral, with a glass ceiling and walls of different sizes. These seem to have been expanded over the ages, and Pidge is pretty sure she knows why.

 

“What is this place?” -Lance asks, craning his head up as they approach.

 

“Taneleer Tivan’s museum.” -Pidge answers. “The guy who owns this station is known throughout the galaxy as a...collector, I guess. He seeks out strange and unique things, and displays them here as a part of his collection. He’s also the owner of the mining group that you’ve seen around here, as well as the interstellar service that collects all the warp drive  _ goop  _ that starships seem to dump out into space after FTL travel.”

 

Ruby makes a grossed-out face. “Gem ships don’t... _ do  _ that.”

 

“That’s because Gem tech is the most advanced thing I’ve ever seen.” -Pidge says. “Anyway, and more relevant to our purposes here, Tivan is also the galaxy’s biggest information broker, so if anyone knows about rebel movements, and how best to approach returning Ruby to her people, it’s  _ probably  _ him.”

 

Ruby gets  _ super _ nervous all of a sudden. “Uhhh... _ rebels _ ? W-what are you talking about?”

 

Pidge winces. “Oh... _ sorry _ , I forgot to tell you. My father and brother were captured by the Galra a few years ago, along with Shiro, the Black Paladin you met.” -she says. “I’ve been searching for them ever since, and my latest lead places them as anti-Galra rebels somewhere in this galaxy.”

 

The Gem blinks. “Oh.  _ Oh _ . For a second there, I thought you meant... _ nevermind _ .” -she says, still fidgety.

 

Lance kneels down, puts his hand on the small Gem’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s ok. We’re not your Hessonite, or your Yellow Diamond, or  _ whatever _ . We’re friends, and we’ll hear whatever it is you want to tell us.”

 

Ruby hesitates. Pidge can tell she really wants to talk, but something stops her. Given what she’s learned of Gem culture, Pidge can only imagine rebellion isn’t exactly an allowed topic of conversation in Kindergartens. Ruby seems to come to a conclusion quickly enough, though.

 

“I just...thought you were talking about…” -she says, then whispers, so low she has to rely on her helmet’s real time transcription software to understand. “... _ the Crystal Gems _ .”

 

Pidge and Lance share a  _ look _ . It’s not  _ exactly  _ the world-shattering revelation they were expecting. “What are the ‘Crystal Gems’?” -Pidge asks.

 

The Ruby cringes, her already small body shrinking even further. “Oh my  _ stars _ , you say it so  _ brazenly _ ! What if they hear?” -she asks. Pidge glances around, just in case, but nobody seems to pay them any mind. If anything, the population density near Tivan’s ‘palace’ has plummeted to near-zero.

 

“Who do you think is going to hear you?”

 

“ _ Them _ !” -she shrieks, almost in a panic. There’s still nobody around. “The Onyxes and the Jets, all the traitor-hunters! Maybe even the  _ Diamonds _ , I don’t know.”

 

Pidge purses her lips. It’s not exactly a surprise to know that the Diamond matriarchs have Gems in their service whose only purpose is hunting down threats to their authority, but it still brings up the same terrible taste in her mouth she feels when thinking about the horrors perpetrated by the Galra under Zarkon’s millennia-long tyranny. “I promise, they won’t find out. If you still want to tell us about these Crystal Gems, that is.” -Pidge promises. 

 

Ruby still winces a little, but nods, trusting. “They’re...well,  _ rebels _ . Rumors I’ve heard around the barracks, y’know? The elites never talk about them, but they say, if you mention them in their presence, you’ll be shattered on the spot.” -she says.

 

“Jesus,  _ shattered _ ?” -Lance asks. Ruby didn’t mention such a punishment before, but Pidge can imagine, from what she’s learned of their... _ anatomy _ , that that’s  _ basically  _ their form of execution.

 

The little Gem nods. “Yeah, on the spot!” -she repeats. “The older Gems say they rebelled against the Diamond Authority, thousands of years ago. I’ve only been around for a few decades, but they say that there used to be  _ four _ Diamond matriarchs, instead of the three we are all made to serve in this Era. They say the rebels... _ shattered a Diamond _ .”

 

She says this last line like it’s the last thing she’ll ever say - like Yellow Diamond herself has heard this heresy and is about to  _ ODST _ right into her relatively fragile little gemstone, but of course, nothing happens. Ruby seems genuinely relieved. “A-anyway, that’s what I thought you guys were talking about.”

 

“Not to diminish this breakthrough of yours, but... _ why _ would we have been talking about rebel Gems, Ruby?” -Pidge asks.

 

“Oh! Well, you’re from Earth, aren’t you?” -she asks, all innocent confusion. “The Crystal Gems are from Earth, too.”

 

To say that this is a bombshell of a revelation is a  _ severe _ understatement. As far as  _ any human  _ knows, the _ only  _ contact Earth has ever had with extraterrestrial life has been Altean surveyors -  _ gods  _ know how many years ago - the Blue Lion being hidden away on her homeworld, and the small Galra taskforce that tried to take Blue from them just as they awoke the Lion. And yet, here is this tiny little alien confidently affirming that alien life - and furthermore, the walking  _ fridge horrors _ that they’ve discovered Gemkind to be - existed and  _ fought wars _ on Earth.

 

Lance, ever the skeptic, is about to question the veracity of Ruby’s claims, when the doors to Tivan’s sanctuary open, revealing yet another Krylorian female, in  _ much  _ less sexy attire, daintily walking towards them. She smiles at them, but there’s an edge to the expression, a tightness Pidge has come to associate with forceful cheerfulness.

 

“Welcome, Blue and Green Paladins of Voltron! You have been graced with the ever-ephemeral attention of The Collector, Taneleer Tivan. Please, gratefully accept his invitation, and walk with me into the hallowed halls of his treasure trove.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang meets The Collector, and is appropriately freaked out by his hoard and general demeanor. He might be able to help Pidge find her family, but, like all interesting side characters, he may or may not have a side-quest for our heroes.
> 
> Please don't be a fetch quest, please don't be a fetch quest.

Tivan’s collection - which amounts to the universe’s most  _ severe _ case of hoarding, really, they could make a whole  _ season  _ of the show here - is a bit of a paradox. It’s evident, both from the way the people of Knowhere tend to avoid this place, and the utterly unguarded ‘exhibits’, that no one ever really visits the place. And yet, the displays  _ are  _ pretty much what you’d expect from a museum: exhibit titles, relevant trivia, and a fun little blurb, presumably written by Tivan himself.

 

Y’know, for  _ every single one _ of the  _ millions upon millions  _ of items on his collection. Pidge can almost  _ feel _ the mania coming off of them.

 

The collection is equal parts xeno-zoo and museum, too. There’s rare creatures sprinkled in between ancient artifacts of civilizations long gone, captive specimens of eerily sapient-looking aliens just beside idols and statues of unknowable cosmic gods. It gives her a headache, just  _ trying  _ to absorb a  _ fraction  _ of the information on display. She glances at Lance, who’s taking everything in with a critical eye, and Ruby, who lags behind a couple steps as she stops to look at every other object with the wonder of your average Rapunzel-like shut-in.

 

The Krylorian eventually leads them to a room larger than any other they’ve been in. Its contents tickle something in the back of Pidge’s mind, and it takes her an embarrassingly long time to figure out why.

 

She really  _ has  _ been away from home for a while.

 

“Welcome to the Terra exhibit.” -the woman says. “My master thought you would appreciate the familiarity.”

 

“Where is he?” -Lance asks, more than a little freaked out. Pidge can relate - this little hoard of Earth knick-knacks feels  _ wrong _ , in a way that the store they bought Kaltenecker in doesn’t. The alien there hadn’t  _ actually  _ been to Earth, and his wares - Kaltenecker included - were just reverse-engineered knock-off versions of real, decades-old merchandise advertised on TV. Kaltenecker never actually eats, nor does she, er,  _ poop _ . She still produces milk, though, and the genuine item, too. 

 

Pidge still hasn’t _ quite _ figured their bovine companion out.

 

The Collector, in any case,  _ clearly  _ has been to Earth - or at least, whoever gets his little collectibles has. There’s Route 66 roadmarks, mexican candy skulls, what appears to be a legitimate, rusty, ancient spartan helmet, a  _ GameCube controller _ ...no rhyme or reason to it, but there’s  _ thousands  _ of articles, clearly taken from Earth. It’s not just the Crystal Gems and their civil war; aliens have, quite obviously, come and gone to and from Earth for  _ ages _ .

 

“The Collector shall be along momentarily.” -the Krylorian says, pleasantly. “He had... _ other  _ guests to attend.”

 

Pidge frowns. “This place doesn’t exactly feel like a tourist attraction.”

 

“Oh, no. My master is dealing with  _ customers _ at the moment. This collection is, aside from the largest repository of strange and unique items in the universe, one of the safest places to store items of value in the galaxy.” -she explains. “There are places within this maze that are only accessible to The Collector - for anyone  _ else  _ to try would be risking madness, death...and  _ worse _ .”

 

There’s an edge of warning to her explanation, though Pidge can’t quite tell if the alien is genuinely trying to keep them safe, or gleefully threatening their lives. In any event, she curtsies, and exits the room, leaving them alone with the roomful of human knickknacks.

 

“Well,  _ that _ was creepy.” -Lance notes.

 

“Yeah,  _ kinda _ .” -Pidge says. “What’s worse than death?”

 

“ _ Harvesting _ .” -Ruby says, uncharacteristically serious. She shivers, then resumes her examination of a pair of aviator glasses.

 

Lance and Pidge share a  _ look _ . The Blue Paladin is clearly about to ask for the little Gem to elaborate, but Pidge shakes her head. There’s more pressing matters to attend.

 

“So...the Crystal Gems fought the Diamonds’ forces on Earth.” -Pidge prompts.

 

Ruby winces. “That’s what I heard.” -she says. “They say the Gems in Blue Diamond’s court can actually talk about it, but Yellow Diamond won’t allow it. I’ve only heard bits and pieces.”

 

“You said there were three remaining Diamond Matriarchs?” -Pidge asks.

 

“Yeah, Yellow, Blue and…” -she stops, covering her mouth. “I...can’t say her name.”

 

Lance frowns. “It’s alright, no one’s gonna…”

 

“No, sorry, I...meant that  _ literally _ . Yellow Diamond forbids us lesser Gems from speaking  _ her _ name, so we won’t ‘distract her with our ceaseless chattering’. I physically  _ can’t say the words. _ ”

 

A shiver runs through Pidge’s spine. Incidentally, it’s the same tingle she feels whenever she’s exposed to a higher power - be it Zarkon’s RoBeast abominations, Haggar’s tainted magics, or even Voltron itself, she always feels that  _ slight _ cosmic horror that comes with facing entities for whom her existence barely registers.

 

“... _ okay _ .” -Pidge says. “Noted. What else do you know about the rebellion?”

 

“Something about a Quartz soldier going rogue and sabotaging the proposed Earth colony.” -she shrugs. “I’m not sure how  _ one _ Quartz soldier could’ve done everything she supposedly did. Lesser Gems can’t disobey orders from a Diamond, so she should’ve stopped her rebellion as soon as hers gave the order.”

 

Pidge frowns. She’s not sure the situation is as... _ deterministic _ as Ruby puts it - after all, and even if she doesn’t really want to talk about it, she  _ did  _ intentionally delay her regeneration, and she  _ did  _ choose to hang out with her and Lance on her way back to Gem space instead of figuring it out for herself, which Pidge wholeheartedly believes the little Gem could do. Gems  _ must  _ be capable of free will. 

 

“I dunno, she must’ve been defective.” -Ruby concludes.

 

“Oh, you have  _ no idea  _ how  _ right  _ you are.”

 

Ruby, Lance, and Pidge all turn at once, startled by the voice of a tall man with wildly spiky white hair, and a luxurious, regal coat hanging from his shoulders. “Carina…” -he says, staring pointedly at the Krylorian beside him, who rushes forward to present the man.

 

“ _ Rejoice _ , Paladins, for you are in the awe-inspiring presence of The Collector.” -she hastily announces. 

 

Pidge wouldn’t exactly choose ‘awe-inspiring’ as a descriptor for the man; Tivan mostly looks like a really wealthy space aristocrat, though certainly one who spends... _ unhealthy _ amounts of time sequestered inside, probably muttering factoids to himself. He eyes them with a certain  _ hunger _ , his gaze lingering on their bayards and the exquisite Altean craftsmanship of their Paladin armors.

 

“You were expecting us.” -Pidge states.

 

Tivan smirks. “I make it my business to gather every interesting little thing I come across. Sometimes it’s an artifact. Sometimes it’s  _ information _ .” -he explains. “Not that your visit to Knowhere was in any way  _ subtle _ , mind you. The Lions of Voltron are not exactly understated means of travelling the universe.”

 

“...and you know about the Lions.”

 

“Of course. The galaxy at large may be unaware of your… _ conflict  _ with the Galra Empire, but I am  _ beyond  _ such ignorance.”

 

Pidge crosses her arms. “Then I imagine helping us find my family shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

 

The Collector hums. “Perhaps.” -he says. “I’ve always had a fondness for humanity, as you can see around you. Such  _ determined _ little creatures.”

 

“This seems like a  _ little  _ more than ‘a fondness’, dude.” -Lance mutters.

 

“Not when you’ve lived since the Dawn of Creation, Paladin.” -Tivan says. “There are a great many items within my collection, to be sure, but I  _ have _ lived for eons. My trinkets tend to... _ accumulate _ .”

 

Pidge rolls her eyes. “We’re not here to stage an intervention. Just tell us if you can help, so we can be on our way.”

 

“I can. And I will.” -he assures her. “But first, I require your assistance.”

 

_ Oof _ , she thinks. This’ll be a fetch quest, for sure.

 

“It is a simple matter. I need you to escort one of my... _ purveyors _ . They must attend a rather  _ crucial _ rendezvous on the fringes of the galaxy - perfectly safe, I assure you, and convenient, too; this trip would land you quite nearby Gem-controlled space.” -he says.

 

_ Great _ . An escort quest, instead.

 

“Why us? You  _ must  _ have some kind of transportation system for your agents.”

 

He sighs. “While I  _ expect  _ my agents to handle themselves in all aspects of their missions - except, of course, for costs - speed is of the essence here, and there is no available transport  _ quite _ as quick to traverse the interstellar void as your extra-dimensional Lions.” -he explains.

 

Lance frowns. “How big a detour are we talking here? We’re in the middle of trying to figure out peace with the Galra Empire. We might be needed on the other side of the universe, any moment.”

 

Tivan stares at Pidge. “Hmm. Does it  _ matter _ , Katie?”

 

Pidge narrows her eyes, and stares into Tivan’s. It’s obvious from the way he talked about humans, and his age, that Tivan is no mere mortal, but Pidge gets the impression that he’s no mere  _ immortal _ , either. How does he know her birth name? Is it omniscience? Or just a really good information network? “The name’s  _ Pidge _ , Tivan. And no, it doesn’t - we’ll do it.”

 

“As I knew you would.” -he smirks. “You should be thankful - my usual fee is something more... _ unique _ .” -he says, glancing at Pidge’s bayard. The Green Paladin protectively puts her hand on top of it. “But, events on your homeworld have transpired such that I unfortunately cannot afford to waste time detaching you from your more valuable artifacts.”

 

“A Paladin’s time is plenty valuable.” -Lance says. “Now, what’s this about our homeworld?”

 

“Perhaps I’ll tell you upon your return.” -he shrugs. “Suffice it for now to say, you may want to keep an eye on your  _ darling blue marble _ in the near future. In between securing peace for the known universe, of course.” -he says, sarcastic.

 

Pidge purses her lips, impatient. This  _ sounds  _ important, but she’s  _ so close _ . It’s been over a year, and she’s never been closer to finding her family than now, entering the service of this flippin’ weirdo. “Be cryptic  _ later _ . Who are we taking, and where?”

 

“You’ll find them in a bar - the Lacrimal Bone is the name, I believe.” -he says, then looks at Ruby. “ _ Do _ try and keep an open mind, little pebble. They may or may not be a bit... _ shocking _ , for someone like you.”

 

* * *

 

Ruby fumes the whole time, going to the bar. “How  _ dare _ that meatball call me a Pebble?”, she mutters to herself.

 

Ruby didn’t mention Pebbles in her rather  _ comprehensive  _ report on Gem society, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the name bothers her. “Why? Is it some kind of insult for Gems?” -Pidge asks.

 

The Gem crosses her thick, stubby little arms. “ _ Yes _ ! Kinda...Pebbles are... _ extras _ . When other Gems are made, the essence the Injectors use sometimes spills, and brings nearby minerals to life, too. They’re  _ tiny _ , and  _ dumb _ , and all they know to do is shape-shift, so they get tossed in the nooks and crannies of Gem structures and ordered to clean, and stay quiet, and out of sight.”

 

“ _ Jesus _ . Ruby, why do you hate them so much?” -Lance asks, befuddled.

 

“I’m a  _ warrior _ , not a  _ cleaning maid _ .” -she says, proudly, then slumps down a little. “The Upper Crusts already look down on us Rubies  _ so much _ . I don’t need a weird looking organic bashing me, too.”

 

Pidge thinks she knows what’s  _ really _ going on; it’s not that Ruby  _ hates  _ Pebbles, but rather that she’s learned from her superiors to dismiss or even  _ insult _ those ‘below’ her. Gemkind’s systemic classism has obviously trickled down, even to their most marginalized members. She wouldn’t be surprised if she met a Pebble and it was disgusted to meet a human - a ‘lesser’ lifeform.

 

Note to self: try and figure out how to dismantle this  _ horrific  _ caste system after the Galra Empire is dealt with. 

 

The bar is, of course, located where a human skull’s lacrimal bone would be found, just beyond Knowhere’s left eye socket, a couple of miles into the station. It’s  _ teeming  _ with patrons, its apparent popularity likely added onto by the fact that many of the station’s miners have just ended their shifts. There’s grime, and dirt, and the sour scent of sweat everywhere - something Pidge may or may not have found  _ disgusting  _ as Katie Holt, but has come to associate with the trillions of good, hard working people in the universe. Lance and Ruby, on the other hand,  _ do  _ kinda turn their noses up at the people pressing up against them, making Pidge roll her eyes at the divas she’s got for travelling companions. Lance miraculously finds a couple free barstools and invites Pidge to sit beside him, while Ruby explores the completely alien establishment to her heart’s content.

 

“What’s wrong, Lance?” -she whisper-shouts, fighting to make herself heard above the bustling crowd around them. “Thought you’d be right at home at an alien bar.”

 

His nose wrinkles a bit. “This isn’t  _ exactly  _ my scene. Plus, the smells kinda remind me of the farm back home, and  _ that _ reminds me of manual labor, which is a no-no for Lance.”

 

“Huh, yeah. I almost forgot about your farmer backstory.”

 

“Lucky you.” -he says, smirking. “Some of us lay awake at night, remembering days upon days of toiling away with stinky farm animals in the sweltering Cuban sun.”

 

“Oh, shut up. You loved it.”

 

“I  _ appreciate  _ it in retrospect.” -he corrects. “In sort of the same way as I  _ appreciate  _ regular, human colds, instead of whatever alien herpes we’re exposed to out here. It makes me think of home, and my family, but it’s  _ still _ fucking annoying.”

 

“I get that.” -Pidge hums. “So, what’s your take?”

 

“On hoarder space dandy?” -he shrugs. “He’s freaky, probably some kind of horrific Lovecraftian god. What else is new?”

 

“That’s  _ kind  _ of a depressing attitude, dude, but you’re not wrong.” -she says. “At this point, I’d be surprised if we meet anyone relevant to our journey that  _ doesn’t _ have a vaguely messed up dark side.”

 

Lance chuckles. “They really should’ve put it in the Paladin job description.”

 

Pidge smirks, automatically grabbing at the glass of vaguely fruity liquid she’s just been handed. She frowns; she didn’t order anything - and she doubts the bartender will take GAC, or the old, Garrison-issued debit card she’s still lugging around in her wallet. She has her helmet scan the substance, which comes back as a safe-to-drink alien fruit juice, no toxic or narcotic foreign substances to be found within. She turns to ask Lance if he ordered it for her, but he’s already halfway through a mug of frothy amber liquid - some kind of beer, no doubt.

 

She looks around, but no one’s staring at her suspiciously or anything. She scans the patrons for any signs of the rebels she’s looking for - maybe one of them is trying to give her a signal that she’s on the right track, or trying to get in contact with her surreptitiously - but there’s absolutely no familiar symbols or emblems.

 

Ultimately, Pidge shrugs and takes her helmet off, sipping on the drink. It tastes like apple and strawberry, with a hint of lime at the end. Weird, but not unpleasant. She’s more of a ‘mix every soda in the fountain into one indescribable sucrose potion’ kinda gal, but this mystery drink isn’t so bad.

 

“So, what do you think they’ll look like?” -Lance asks. 

 

“Huh?”

 

“The Collector’s agent.” -he says. “What are we looking for, here?”

 

Pidge shrugs. “No clue. Someone unassuming, I’d think. Probably hard to tell apart from the rest of the crowd.”

 

Lance raises an eyebrow. “Clearly, you haven’t watched enough Bond movies.”

 

She scoffs. “Knowing you, you’ve  _ probably  _ watched too many.”

 

He laughs. “I’m just saying, every contact 007’s ever met has been  _ smoking hot _ . Can’t blame a guy for hoping real life goes along with the cliché.”

 

Pidge shakes her head. “Never change, Lance.” she says, sarcastic.

 

Lance knocks back the rest of his drink. “Just messing with you.” -he says. “Paladin life kinda sets you straight, when it comes to those kinds of ridiculous fantasies.”

 

“Yeah...it does.” -Pidge says, forlorn. “I think I’d feel horrible playing  _ Halo _ , now that I’ve  _ actually _ fought and killed hostile aliens in droves.”

 

He winces. “Maybe we should invest in some kind of therapist. I think Keith and Allura are used to it, but...thinking about it really messes with my head.”

 

“I’ve almost done the math a few times, y’know?” -she confesses. “Green keeps a tally of every fighter and warship she takes down, and so does my armor. Knowing the average warship crew sizes, I could figure out almost  _ exactly  _ how many Galra deaths I’ve been directly responsible for - but I’ve never gotten to a final number. Ultimately, I think I’m better off not knowing.”

 

“It sucks.” -Lance sums up. “But Zarkon didn’t leave us a choice. None of us asked for this. So, unless Lotor is  _ somehow _ honest about making peace with the rest of the universe, I doubt it’ll  _ stop  _ sucking anytime soon.”

 

She finishes her space juice, offering a tight smile. “Here’s hoping.”

 

They stay in companionable silence for a while, just taking in the cacophony around them. No more mystery drinks appear before them, which is  _ kind _ of a bummer, but does help to lessen her worry about its origin.

 

And then, Ruby runs up to them. She’s not... _ pale _ , since she doesn’t have any blood, but she does seem incredibly spooked. 

 

“Whoa, what’s up?” -Lance asks, surprised. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

 

“What’s a ghost?” -Ruby briefly wonders, then shakes her head. “We need to leave,  _ now _ .” -she says, urgent.

 

“Why, what happened?”

 

“There’s a Gem here!” -Ruby whisper-screeches. “Well, two Gems, but they’re trouble!”

 

Pidge frowns, donning her helmet and bringing her bayard to bear. “Where are they?”

 

Ruby turns, and seemingly becomes paralyzed with fear. Pidge turns, and sees exactly why; an extremely tall, lanky woman approaches, cloaked in a frayed brown cloak that barely covers her torso and thighs. Knowing what to look for, it’s easy to tell that she’s a Gem - her features are very simplistic, lacking fingernails, body hair, and  _ ears _ , and her proportions are certainly  _ humanoid _ , but very clearly not based on actual humans. Her skin tone is sort of a greyish-blue, and her short hair is white.

 

Also, the clothes beneath the cloak are, y’know, fused to her skin.

 

As she walks, Pidge spots her gemstone, a smooth, elongated oval on her right thigh. For a second, she thinks it might be a Pearl variation of some kind - she certainly seems to fit the body type Ruby described - but then, why would Ruby be afraid?

 

And why does she have a  _ second _ gemstone, poking out from the back of the fingerless glove on her left hand?

 

The Gem towers above them, easily ten, or eleven feet tall. “Tivan didn’t mention you two would be ferrying a fugitive.” -she says, airily. “Well,  _ another _ fugitive.”

 

She bends down. “Been a few hundred years since I last saw a Ruby. I see the Diamonds still make you as cute as ever.”

 

“ _ You’re _ the passenger?”

 

The Gem raises an eyebrow. “I see my employer is up to his usual cryptic demeanor.” -she notes. “Sorry about that. He  _ probably _ should’ve warned you what you’d be dealing with. Let the Homeworlder mentally prepare a bit, at least.”

 

She rises and turns around. Her hair is styled in a buzz cut on the right side and back of her head - which reveals that she’s  _ literally _ got a second pair of eyes back there, bright silver irises with dark blue sclera.

 

“I’m Moonstone, by the way. Get me to your Lions, yeah?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moonstone is NOT my OC. The character idea belongs to Artifiziell, over on Tumblr. They're a permafusion made up of an Albite and an Orthoclase, both also her OCs. I claim no ownership over any of them, and only decided to use them because a) Artifiziell gave blanket permission for fic writers to use Moonstone, and b) Moonstone just looks so dang cool, and really fit the kind of foil I intend her to be for Ruby. 
> 
> I invite you to check Artifiziell's Tumblr and check out her amazing creations! She's got an extraordinarily accurate take on the Steven Universe art style, and has created many OCs and awesome fanart pieces over the years I've followed her work. And hey, if you're reading this, I hope I make your concept justice!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby wants nothing to do with the rogue Gem, which means Pidge gets to know Moonstone - and discovers she's a lot more involved with humanity than she could've ever imagined.
> 
> (in which a shared history lesson ends up in - you know it - more Gem-related cosmic horror for the Paladins!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot will happen in the next one, I promise! This is pretty lore/headcanon heavy still, hahaha

Moonstone is  _ cool _ . She’s kind of a Han Solo, puckish rogue type, an adventurer who’s  _ clearly _ lived through  _ dozens _ of lifetimes and has collected enough experience to have an anecdote ready for every occasion. 

 

She also  _ terrifies  _ Ruby. So much so, the little Corundum has chosen to fly with Lance to the rendezvous point.

 

It’s a fairly short trip, just a couple hours long to traverse some twelve thousand light years to the galactic rim. They  _ could  _ go faster - and the Lions never  _ truly  _ run out of power, pulling a seemingly infinite amount of quintessence from  _ who knows where  _ \- but Moonstone suggests caution. Despite Tivan’s assurances, they’re headed to a sector of the Milky Way that, according to Moonstone, the vast majority of travellers avoid like the plague: the border between Gem and Kree space.

 

“So, why is the meeting happening all the way out here?” -Pidge asks, some five minutes out.

 

Moonstone sits beside her on the floor, cross-legged, still tall enough to look down at Pidge. “This is sort of a... _ buffer zone _ . The Kree Empire is at war with the Great Diamond Authority - well, they’re at war with nearly  _ everybody _ , really - but it’s a rather one-sided affair.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

The Gem shrugs. “As powerful, disciplined, and technologically advanced as the Kree are, they  _ really _ can’t compete with the Gem Empire. Can’t beat back an enemy that never needs to stop and rest. Or eat. Or wait  _ decades _ for their warriors to be combat-ready.”

 

“ _ Yikes _ .”

 

“You said it, sister.” -Moonstone agrees. “The Kree still haven’t figured out how to stop Gem expansion, so they keep this sector clear of their own colonies as a sort of stop-gap, keeping the Diamonds busy with colonization - which, to be fair, takes them  _ hundreds _ or even  _ thousands _ of years to complete for each world.”

 

Pidge raises an eyebrow. “That seems... _ slow _ , for your people.”

 

“I’m guessing you haven’t seen a finalized Gem colony, then.” -she says, cryptically. “In any case, the Kree have been forced to expand elsewhere for the last few thousand years, which is how you get the mess of a galaxy we have today.”

 

“How so?”

 

Moonstone tilts her head. “What, did you  _ just  _ leave Earth?”

 

Pidge chuckles awkwardly. “Well,  _ no _ , but we’re more... _ universe-spanning _ , I guess. Haven’t really been around the Milky Way much, until now.”

 

“Hmm. I see.” -she says. “Well, you might not want to stay long, then. This galaxy is on the brink of total war.”

 

“That sounds... _ less than ideal _ .” -Pidge remarks, sarcastic. “Especially considering Earth is still, like, a  _ point five  _ on the Kardashev scale.”

 

Moonstone looks completely confused, so Pidge coughs and explains. “We can’t exactly  _ defend _ ourselves from alien attacks, I mean. Humanity is still messing around with projectile weaponry and fossil fuels.”

 

“Ah. Well, I wouldn’t worry about your home planet too much. Earth has no value to any of the major powers in the galaxy that I know of. It’s too remote, too small, and too underdeveloped for the Kree  _ or  _ the Xandarians to consider conquering, and far from the path of the Black Order’s so-called Decimation.”

 

Pidge crosses her arms. “Didn’t  _ you _ guys try to conquer the Earth before?”

 

Moonstone gives her a half-shrug. “Conquering _ kind of  _ implies violence. Pink Diamond simply claimed Earth as  _ hers _ , and it’s not like your ancestors  _ disagreed _ \- they were  _ barely _ starting to form their own civilizations. The only Gem-related conflicts on Earth happened due to Rose Quartz’s rebellion. No humans were ever actively harmed, to my knowledge.”

 

“Ruby  _ did  _ mention a Quartz…” -Pidge muses.

 

“I’m surprised she knows about the rebellion at all.” -Moonstone admits. “She’s an Era 2 Gem, made  _ way  _ after the war ended - she can’t be more than a couple centuries old. I thought they couldn’t even  _ speak  _ about the shattered Diamond, let alone know about the Crystal Gems.”

 

“And you? How do  _ you  _ know all this?”

 

Moonstone chuckles. “Well, I’m… _ old _ , by organic standards. Somewhere in the late twelve thousands, by my estimation? You  _ kinda _ stop counting after ten thousand.”

 

“Oh my _God_ , you’re older than agriculture.” -Pidge shakes her head. “You were alive before the Galra Empire was a thing!”

 

“I’m older than  _ human  _ agriculture.” -she points out, amused. “The Kree had figured industry and machines out by the time your ancestors were beginning to try out sedentarism.”

 

“Wow. That’s  _ fascinating _ .” -Pidge says, then shoots her a look. “But it’s not  _ quite  _ the explanation I was looking for.”

 

Moonstone raised an eyebrow. “Well, aren’t  _ you  _ the curious one.” -she says, then gingerly rubs at the gemstone on her thigh. “I suppose there’s no point in playing coy: I was part of the first wave of Gem scouts that discovered and landed on Earth, prior to Pink Diamond’s attempted colonization.”

 

Pidge blinks. “That’s... _ unbelievable _ , honestly. What are the odds that you’d end up on a mission with  _ two _ of a  _ handful _ of humans currently in space, thousands of years later?”

 

“ _ Astronomically _ low, but...you never know, with the Collector. I suspect us meeting was  _ very much _ intentional on his part.” -she shrugs. “If there’s anything I’ve learned in the past few hundred years of service to the man, it’s not to question these things. He just... _ knows _ , sometimes.”

 

Pidge hums, unsatisfied. Now she kind of wishes they’d spent just a  _ bit  _ more time talking to the eccentric old man. “So, what was it like?” -she asks, after a rather pregnant pause. 

 

“What, Earth?” -she asks, to which Pidge nods. “ _ Beautiful _ , to be sure. Wild,  _ untamed _ \- I’ve never seen a world with such an immense variety of life forms before, or since. So densely populated it would’ve taken every Malachite in the Empire and  _ then  _ some to clear it out.”

 

Right. Anti-organic specialist Gems.  _ As you do _ .

 

“Earth was small, for Gem standards at the time, but its sheer resource density made it worth finding, and spending the extra time setting up a direct line to Homeworld. We never imagined it would be Pink Diamond’s first colony, much less the site of her death, and of the first and  _ only _ Gem civil war in history.”

 

“So it’s not interesting enough for the Kree or the Xandarians, but it  _ was  _ for Gems?”

 

Moonstone purses her lips. “Gemkind doesn’t  _ exactly _ have the same criteria for colonization as you  _ fleshy types _ do. We don’t care about atmospheric compositions, flora and fauna, or the presence of water. All we need is a decent enough planetary crust and an abundance of quintessence - the Diamonds provide the rest. Earth would’ve been a  _ fantastic _ new colony for the Empire, churned out  _ billions  _ of Gems...at the expense of all life on the planet, of course.”

 

If Green were a car, Pidge would’ve swerved. As it stands, she only turns, mouth agape, utterly  _ horrified _ . “ _ What!? _ ”

 

Moonstone sighs. “Like I said, you haven’t seen a completed Gem colony.” -she says, then nods to the Lion’s viewscreen. “Speaking of which, we’re about to overshoot our destination.”

 

Pidge rushes to execute the deceleration sequence, bringing them back into realspace and sub-light speed. A binary star system greets them, the beautiful sight of which fails to bring Pidge out of her shock. Just  _ how  _ close did Pink Diamond and her Gems get to destroying all life on Earth? And how would Gem production have caused such an extinction?

 

She gets an answer, soon enough. Their destination is a massive, waterlogged terrestrial world, almost thrice the size of Earth. Massive, continent-wide storms reach its upper atmosphere, crackling lightning flaring both towards its watery surface, and reaching at the darkness of space. Even her indestructible cosmic Lion seems apprehensive about approaching. 

 

But it’s the planet’s largest moon that draws Pidge’s attention: a celestial body roughly the size of Mars, but with a  _ hundredth  _ of its mass, owing to the fact that it’s been almost  _ completely hollowed out _ . 

 

Lance sums it up best, over the comms: “What the  _ fuck _ happened to that planet?”

 

Green’s scans paint a bleak picture. The exposed planetary core seems intact, held together and in place by  _ incredibly _ powerful magnetic fields. Glowing crystalline rods,  _ thousands _ of kilometers long, stick into the core and connect it with what little remains of the moon’s crust, a patchwork of what must’ve been continents, held in place by a multitude of gravitational engines, each the size of entire cities. The rods draw geothermal energy from the core, and feed the hundreds of structures dotting the surface. There is no mantle, no asthenosphere, and  _ barely _ any crust.

 

Strangely enough, there are no Gems on this world - a tiny reprieve in this sobering moment.

 

“ _ Now  _ you get it.” -Moonstone says, knowingly staring at the Gem colony. “ _ This _ is how the Empire works.  _ This  _ is how Gems are made.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prefacing this by saying that I'm bad at math, I calculated the amount of time that Gems take to colonize a planet as "one Grand Canyon a month", which, if you're curious, would mean that Earth would take 8500 years to completely hollow out, as seen in It Could've Been Great. Considering Yellow Diamond outright states that 6000 years is "nothing" to Gems in the SU movie, I feel like that's a perfectly adequate colonization rate. I'd love to hear your take on it, though!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first upload to AO3! I hope I do it right, this site can be a bit intimidating for someone used to FF only.


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